Low moisture feed blocks for animals made by dehydrating molasses and adding special nutritional elements and other ingredients have become widely used. Such blocks are generally highly palatable and thus attract animals, permitting the blocks to serve as a delivery vehicle for feed supplements or other feed elements provided on an ad libitum consumption basis. They also may have a consumption regulating feature, in that they generally must be consumed by licking, rather than in bites, which slows ingestion and controls consumption. The combination of attraction and regulated consumption also helps to hold grazing animals in locations near the blocks. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,244,217; 6,390,024 and 6,561,133.
As a result of these qualities, low moisture blocks have become widely used in many animal feed situations with many different ingredient formulations. However, some forms of feed supplements or mineral supplements are best or most conveniently formulated in a chemical block or compressed block form rather than in low moisture block form. These forms generally do not have the precision in limiting consumption, and they may be more or less palatable than the typical low moisture block, which is generally formulated to be highly palatable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,739 to Benton shows a feed block for improved mineral delivery that has a mineral supplement provided as an inner cylindrical block or container embedded within a surrounding shell that consists primarily of the dehydrated molasses that is common in low moisture blocks. This is described in Benton's abstract as follows:
“An improved feed block provides discrete portions of mineral supplement and feed supplement in the same feed block. The mineral supplement is provided as an inner package that is surrounded by a shell of feed supplement such as a dehydrated molasses feed supplement. By so providing the two different supplements, the amount of consumption of each can be accurately controlled. Moreover, different feed blocks can be tailored depending on the desired ratio between the two different supplements.”
The Benton structure and mode of consumption are described in Benton's Summary of the Invention:
“An improved feed block for livestock including an improved system for delivering minerals to the livestock is provided by the present invention. According to the invention, an inner block or edible container of granular mineral supplement is provided within an outer shell of feed supplement such as a dehydrated molasses-based feed supplement. Preferably, the improved feed block is made by placing a package of granular mineral supplement wrapped in paper such as cardboard or kraft paper in a tub, and pouring a hot mixture of feed supplement around the inner package. When the feed supplement hardens, the resulting feed block can be provided to livestock to supplement their diet.
The feed block is consumed by allowing the livestock to lick it. To some extent, the livestock can select either of the two different supplements for consumption. However, the livestock are prevented from entirely consuming just one of the supplements as the moisture caused by an animal licking the block causes the less desired portion of the block, usually the mineral supplement, to fall over the more desired portion. Thus, the livestock are required to eventually consume both supplements.”
U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,739 to Benton shows in its Figures two embodiments. Benton FIGS. 1 and 2 show a cylindrical feed block with a shell of dehydrated molasses around a body of mineral supplement 11 provided as in inner cylinder embedded in the shell. FIG. 3 shows another cylindrical feed block with the mineral supplement 11 provided as multiple dispersed packages embedded in the dehydrated molasses shell. In both embodiments, the mineral supplement is embedded by pouring the dehydrated molasses feed supplement around the packages of mineral supplement. In the multi-package embodiment it is not clear how the placement of the multiple dispersed packages occurs such that they are embedded in the dehydrated molasses in desired positions.
Benton U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,739 asserts that: “One important benefit of the feed block of the present invention is that the consumption of feed and mineral supplements can be carefully controlled with a single feed block. In the past, it was generally required that two different supplements or blocks be provided, one for feed supplement and another for mineral supplement.” However, with Benton's approach of using granulated mineral supplement in packages and pouring the feed supplement to make a “shell” around the packages, positioning the mineral supplement in a uniformly distributed fashion appears difficult. Further, when a package of granulated mineral supplement is uncovered by consumption of overlying feed supplement shell, the granulated material of the mineral supplement can flow or be dispersed by animal feeding action. If it does not disperse, it may be consumed in a large slug or it may be spilled and wasted, depending on animal behavior. Thus, as Benton notes: “To some extent, the livestock can select either of the two different supplements for consumption.” However, consumption control appears more limited than desirable for most applications.
Benton U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,739 states that “the precise ratio between feed supplement and mineral supplement can be varied depending on the size and shape of the inner package of mineral supplement.” Benton contemplates that the weight ratio of the molasses-based feed supplement to the minerals is between about 1 and 32. That is, the surrounding shell of the molasses-based feed supplement can range from 32 times the weight of the mineral supplement to equal in weight. Thus, Benton teaches that the molasses-based feed supplement is the majority component by weight, typically the majority by a large multiple. This means that at most 50% of the block weight is available for the other supplement—in Benton's teaching, minerals.
A block that more effectively uses low moisture block feed material, allows a majority of the block to be other (not low-moisture block) feed ingredients that are less expensive, regulates consumption of the other feed ingredients and is readily manufacturable would be highly desirable.